Britney Spears's dad is still trying to leech off of her
Jamie Spears filed a petition to order Britney to continue to pay for his legal fees in the wake of her conservatorship.
Britney Spears is finally free, but that doesn’t mean her father has stopped leeching off of her. Last week, Jamie Spears petitioned the courts to order Britney to continue paying for his legal fees in the wake of the conservatorship that controlled the pop star’s life for 13 years.
“Prompt payment on account of Jamie’s attorneys’ fees is necessary to ensure the conservatorship can be wound up quickly and efficiently to allow Britney to take control of her life as she and Jamie desire,” the petition read in-part.
In September, after a lengthy battle that rode a wave of public support for Britney Spears, Jamie was suspended as the singer’s conservator, a role that allowed him to control her life and finances since 2008. Soon after, in November, the conservatorship was officially terminated. The recent move from Jamie Spears, though, is an attempt to extend a paradox of the conservatorship — during the 13-year arrangement, Britney was already required to pay both her father's legal bills as conservator, along with her own lawyer fees in her attempt to extricate herself from the conservatorship.
The filing, though, frames Jamie as a savior to his daughter who should therefore be financially protected as the terminated conservatorship is sorted out. “It would be contrary to public policy if Jamie’s years of dedication to protect his daughter…could subject him to personal bankruptcy and ruin defending baseless claims,” the petition reads. “No person would ever want to step into the role as conservator if a conservatee could force a conservator to personally pay substantial legal fees defending unfounded allegations.”
In response, Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has called the petition an “abomination.” “Mr. Spears reaped many millions of dollars from Britney as a conservator, while paying his lawyers millions more, all from Britney’s work and hard earned money,” he said in a statement. “The conservatorship has been terminated and Mr. Spears was suspended ignominiously. Under the circumstances, his petition is not only legally meritless, it is an abomination. Britney poignantly testified about the pain her father caused her and this only adds to it. This is not what a father who loves his daughter does.”
The filing will be addressed in an upcoming court hearing for the conservatorship case set for January.
